MOTORISTS in Nuneaton and Bedworth are being urged to "park smart" in the latest bid to beat car crime.

Drivers are being alerted to car crime throughout the area by fluorescent signs on lampposts in the town centre and also in car parks.

The signs are being introduced as part of Warwickshire Police's crime reduction initiative, Operation Chester.

They are going up at sites across the borough, including the Asda car park in Newtown Road, Nuneaton, The Harvester pub in St Nicolas Park Drive, Nuneaton and in Railway Street, Bedworth.

PC Andy Marchi, of the community safety team at Nuneaton, said: "The banners aim to remind drivers to remove all valuables and to make sure their vehicle is secure.

"Thieves are opportunists and if they see valuables on display, they may be tempted to steal them.

"We are urging motorists not to leave anything of value in their vehicles."

The most common items to be taken include coats and clothing, stereos, CDs, cash, credit and store cards, power tools, laptop computers, mobiles, sat-nav devices and registration plates.

PC Marchi said: "Most car crime is preventable. Nine of the top 10 items stolen from vehicles can be easily removed when you park, and the tenth item, vehicle registration plates, can be protected by self-locking screws.

"Sometimes we're lazy and don't park in the most sensible of places or we simply don't take a few seconds to move items out of view.

"But thieves are lazy too and go for the easiest pickings, so if you can be bothered to take a few precautions, it's highly likely that car crime will become someone else's problem, not yours.

"It is not just the fact that you lose your vehicle, or property from inside, but the hours it then takes to sort out replacements, deal with insurance companies and all the stress and inconvenience this causes to an already busy life."

Vehicle crime often increases in the winter months and police say this season has been no different, with thieves targeting sat-navs and numberplates in particular.

Extra policing resources have been put into information gathering and high visibility patrols in hot spots.